DMZ Diary

#1 - March 1st 2003 - Getting Things Started

February was an eventful month for me, although I'd recorded the music for the first episode I spent a lot of time refining my work for the radio. I've made plenty of demo CD's in the past this was totally different, I had to talk, I had to play many more styles in a shorter time and I had to try and please *everyone*. Robin/Kryptyk has been making great headway with jungleZone and my mission was to cover all the ground he wasn't, that's a *lot* of ground, house music had been going for years before the breakneck breakbeats of Drum n Bass established themselves as a genre worthy of a dedicated radio show.

There's two schools of thought about the DMZ, one says that jungleZone managed to get itself on loads of stations playing only Drum n Bass, so logically the DMZ should prove even more popular since it's not sticking to such a niche genre. On the Other hand, perhaps junglezone is making it onto so many stations *because* it's a niche, so it's easy to target, something like the DMZ may spread itself too thin and end up unable to satisfy anyone.

Well, I'm a big believer in possibilities and realities and it'll be a bit of both, sure there'll be the fans of one genre who'd like me to only play what they like. Dance music has become a particularly fragmented scene with DJ's trying to grab a fanbase by concentrating on smaller sections and finer divisions in the genrespace. Well maybe it's time to start bringing people back together again, if the music is good then it should appeal beyond its niche, and music doesn't suck just because someone pigeonholes it in a record store - music sucks because it's bad. This happened with house, techno, Drum n' Bass, Trance..... hey this phenomenon is not confined to dance music.

So every track I play, I play because I believe it's a good record, and I've got a lot of good records in my collection, well lets face it - I have a lot of records so even if I accept Sturgeon's law (90% of everything is crap) then I've still got plenty of records to keep the show going.

Well enough of the larger philosophy, listen to the show, you'll get the idea, all the records speak for themselves.

The first show was actually recorded back in January, almost 2 months before the first broadcast date, so the track selection was critical, the music scene moves rapidly, records can go stale in a weekend. So everything had to have a longevity to it, there's a lot of well established artist in the mix as well as a few tracks that are itching for a re-release. In the end I think it's worked out - but you're all welcome to send me comments and tell me otherwise.

If the first hour was aging by the release date, the second was the opposite, after receiving and rejecting several potential mixes we found ourselves with a day to go and no definitive mix for the show. We'd originally planned to launch with a breakbeat mix from Tipper, except that someone had managed to lose the CD. Just as I was warming up the turntables to put together a contingency plan, Donna Matrix came to my rescue with something which fit the bill precisely. So the show made the release deadline by a few hours and I finally got to breathe a sigh of relief (until next week).

Thanks should of course go out to everyone involved, Robin and Lori at kHz for managing the whole project, Amy - my wonderful girlfriend fur just being there, Miranda for the guest mix, Jennimac for just being enthusiatic and all the stations who actually broadcast the first episode.

So.... Enjoy the show, seeya next week and Stay Funky.

Scott Manley

Tracklising - Hour 1

Artist	Track	Label	Buy? (readme)
Bassbin Twins	ESW	Marine Parade
This is the intro track we play at the start of every show, watch your bassbins.
Telepopmusik	Breathe	Capitol
We all know this record by now, and it's getting a proper re-release off the back of a certain ad campaign. The band is French, but the singer originally comes from Scotland, I couldn't think of a more appropriate record to launch the show with			From The Album "Genetic World"
The Crumpster	Stomp Your Feet	Subliminal
I picked this up as a promo a while ago, and it lay in my bag for a while until I played it to my roommate who then insited I play it again... and again... and again. Then the neighbours downstairs started complaining. Funky disco house with a vocal hook that anyone can pick up in moments.
DJ Rasoul	Oh Baby (Quinn Whalley Remix)	Hooj Choons
DJ Rasoul is somethign of a bay area local, but this record is remixed breakbeat style by Quinn Whalley, so we lose the jazzy SF sound and instead get a lovely rolling breakbeat and wonderful femal vocals fading in and out of the mix.
The Audio Bullys	Real Life	Source
The Audio Bullys have been Dubbed 'Hooligan House' - dirty breaks, garage, bass driven house and rough vocals. Hey... I guess that's real life. This record is one of those that reminds me that dance music really is the modern version of the punk 'do it yourself' ethic.
Oscar G and Ralph Falcon	The Dark Beat	Twisted
A chunky tribal monster with a big vocal hook? Tribal isn't generally known for memorable vocals, but there's always exceptions - and what a beast this track is. I've been playing this for a while and it's going to be re-released in the spring, look out for it.
Chicken Lips	He Not In (Mutiny's Real Life Mix)	Azuli
Chicken Lips come out of leftfield with house tracks that just don't quite fit in with anything else and yet sound absolutely fantastic. The album is fantastic, but I scratched my copy.... fortunately the next day I found a new copy of the track I'd destroyed, with this tasty remix by Mutiny on the B Side.
Sugarpussy vs Ms Ritchie		White Label	You'll Be Lucky!
Well I say white label because nobody wants to own up to this lawyer baiting Madonna remix, but it actually came with a black label saying 'Strictly Limiter Edition'. The tempo gets pumped up and her vocals fit in wonderfully with this bouncy house track, don't look for it in the shops though.
Moguai	U Know Why	Hope
I heard this track last year and grabbed the first copy I could find, it's a really simple chunky track which managed to be growly and speaker endangering without descending into the mega bassline sounds used in so many nu-breaks tracks right now. Hey you can even sing along with the hook, something which can't be said for a lot of breaks tracks right now.
Krafty Kuts vs A-Skillz	Tricka Technology	Finger Lickin'
Krafty Kuts and Finger Lickin' are well known for their excellent funky breakbeat tracks, well Kraft Kuts here proves that he can hold his own in the world of hip-hop. Forget gangsta rap, this is good fun hip-hop breaks which is just great for getting groovey to.
The Free Association	I Wish I Had A Wooden Heart	13 Amp
David Holmes is something of a legend in dance music, he started out with some classic house records before jumping sideways into a more varied and Cinematic sound. Next thing we knoew he's producing great soundtracks to great movies (Out Of Sight, Oceans 11) and launching this seperate studio project - the Free Association.			From The Album 'David Holmes Presents The Free Association'
Kirsty Hawkshaw	It's a Fine Day (James Holden Remix)	Mainline
The original version of this record was a hit for Opus 3 in the early 90's, well since then the vocalist has made a name for herself and has voiced some fantastic records. With this record she reprises her first brush with fame and brings James Holden along to produce the definitive mix of this record.
Hybrid	Gravastar	Distinctive Breaks
Hybrid are famous for their sweeping symphonic epics laid over tough as nails breakbeats, but here they produce a rather more understated progressive house track. This record just flows wonderfully, especially when I get to play the epic 10 minute version.
Beth Orton	Anywhere (2 Lone Swordsmen Mix)	Astralwerks
Beth Orton has gorgeous voice and unparalled song writing skills, she's proviced vocals to the Chemical Brothers and William Orbit, and yet she still finds people in cowboy hats line dancing to her songs when she's on tour. This was the standout track on a remix package released last year to go with her Daybreaker album.
Phil Kieran	VItalian House	Kingsize
Phil Kieran is almost an Irish Timo Maas, except he lacks the rubber face, he's produced some great House, Techno and breaks records and likes to blur the traditional boundaries. This is basically a modern reworking of the classic 'House Nation', a bit tougher and techier than the original, but just as motivating.
Slam vs Dot Allison	Visions (Vitalic Mix)	Soma
Slam have a great pedigree in the world of techno, they produced the legendary 'Positive Education' - a record that set the standard for many years. On this record they collaborate with a fellow Scot, Dot Allison and the result is one of the most distinctive records from 2002. Of course I had to play this record since I come from the same part of the world.			Original version is on The 'Alien Radio' Album
Trinity Hi-Fi	Turn The LIghts Down (Dave London Remix)	Airdog
I've had this for a while, in fact it turned up at the end of one of my early demo mixes.... then it appeared in a several other compilations and the next thing you know it's getting radio airplay and a re-release was arranged. The original mix was a spanish quitar driven affair which just felt a little depressing, the Dave London mix kicked things into high gear and left everyone on the dancefloor singing along to the chorus.

Hour 2 - Guest DJ Donna Matrix